The Straits Times, Singapore, 12 May 2015, p.B3

Serial offender broke into flats to steal, molest women

Train driver Muhamad Nizam Ahmad, 31, faced 16 charges in
court and pleaded guilty to six of them. He had trespassed into
other people's homes to molest women and commit theft. -- ST
PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW [Web-only pic, not in printed edition]

A TRAIN driver who broke into Housing Board flats in Woodlands
to molest women and steal money was sentenced to five years' jail
and nine strokes of the cane yesterday.

Muhamad Nizam Ahmad, 31, pleaded guilty to six of 16 charges
and had the rest taken into consideration during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Lu told the court that at
about 5am on July 27, 2010, an 18-year-old girl woke up to find
Nizam kissing her on the lips and touching her private parts
through her clothes.

She lashed out at Nizam who fled, dropping $20 he had stolen
from her.

Ms Lu said Nizam had used a broom he found outside to fish out
the key from the flat to unlock the grille gate and gain entry.

On May 14, 2011, a 28-year-old woman was shocked to see Nizam
standing near her when she woke up at about 7.30am after her
husband had left for work.

He jumped into the bed, covered her mouth and pinned her down
before molesting her.

Click to enlarge

After a long struggle, she managed to break his hold over her
mouth and screamed for help. He then ran out of the flat.

Three of the house trespass charges proceeded on took place in
August and October last year and in May 2009 when he gained entry
through unlocked gates and doors.

Ms Lu said Nizam, a serial offender, had targeted specific
residential areas and "intruded into the victims' sanctity
of space".

The offences were hard to detect and happened in the early
hours of the day.

He could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or
received any combined punishment for each count of molestation.

For housebreaking and theft, he could have been jailed for
between two and 14 years.

Channel NewsAsia, Singapore, 28 May 2015

Malaysian gets 17 years' jail for robbing, raping foreign
national

Chang Kar Meng had robbed the foreign national of S$2,210 in
cash and items, before raping and dumping the victim at her block
on Mar 8, 2013. Besides the jail term, he will also receive 24
strokes of the cane.

By Kyle Malinda

Chang Kar Meng. (Photo: Singapore Police Force)

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Chang Kar Meng, 27, was sentenced on
Thursday (May 28) to a combined 17 years' jail and 24 strokes of
the cane for robbing, making unconscious and then raping a
33-year-old foreign national.

Chang, a staff member at a Raffles Place cafe, had robbed the
foreign national of a total of $2,210, including her gold
necklace, handphone and about S$300 in cash. As the foreign
national is a victim of a sex crime, she will not be named.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhong Zewei said that the accused had
seen the victim going to her block's lift landing at Paya Lebar
on Mar 8, 2013, at around 1.30am.

The accused was on the way home after his girlfriend decided
not to meet him due to a long wait to treat him at a McDonald's
branch. The victim, who works as a waitress, was heading back
from work. As soon as the victim waited for the lift at the
landing, Chang approached the victim from behind and hit the back
of her neck, making her unconscious.

Chang then dragged her body to a grass patch nearby before
stealing her valuables. As he was doing so, he became aroused and
started fondling her breasts, before taking photographs of them.

The victim was slightly conscious at that point but remained
still for fear that Chang would attack her. He then proceeded to
rape her before leaving her body on a discarded mattress at her block.

DPP Zhong said it took investigators five-and-a-half months
before tracing Chang's identity and arresting him on Aug 21,
2013, at his residence. Details of the investigations are not known.

The prosecutor stated that a psychiatric report revealed Chang
had the urge to rape the victim as he had not had sex with his
girlfriend for a week. Furthermore, he was not on good terms with
his girlfriend and he had the intention of impregnating and
leaving her.

Although the report revealed Chang had suffered from
depression, the prosecution argued that Chang was aware of his
actions at the time of the incident.

The defence, led by Sunil Sudheesan, argued that Chang's
family members revealed in statements that his actions in these
offences were not in line with his usual behaviour.

Justice Tay sentenced Chang to 12 years' jail and 12 strokes
of the cane for rape, and five years' jail and 12 strokes of the
cane for voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery.

A third charge, of possessing an allegedly stolen sports bra
and white dress, was taken into consideration. - CNA/kk

The Straits Times, Singapore, 28 May 2015, p.A11

Kallang Bahru rapist jailed for 13 years

Storeman who raped woman in car and robbed her also gets 18
strokes

A STOREMAN who raped a woman in his car on a bridge in Kallang
Bahru and robbed her of her handbag was yesterday sentenced to 13
years' jail and 18 strokes of the cane.

Haliffie Mamat, 24, had offered the woman a lift in his Proton
Savvy in the early morning of May 4, 2013 near Clarke Quay.

The 34-year-old woman, who had been drinking alone, accepted
his offer as she could not get a cab even after waiting for an hour.

She dozed off and when she woke up, Haliffie had stopped the
car on a bridge at about 6.30am. He climbed over to her seat and
threw her bag to the back seat. He then raped her, telling her:
"You can't do anything and just enjoy."

After the rape, he drove off for a short distance but stopped
again. He then opened the door on her side, kicked her out and
drove off with her branded handbag.

Barefoot, dishevelled and bleeding from her elbows and knees, the
woman got into the back of a taxi that stopped at a traffic
junction. Crying and mumbling, she told the cabby she had been
raped and asked to go to the nearest police station.

Haliffie denied raping her and disputed the items in her bag.

Click to enlarge

During the seven-day trial, he claimed that their conversation
in the car turned sexual and she willingly had sex with him. He
said he had only pushed, not kicked, her out of his car.

His lawyers, appointed under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme,
cast doubt on the reliability of the woman's testimony as well as
her claim that Haliffie had grabbed her forearm and caused her
hand to hit something in the car, which resulted in a bruise on
the back of her hand.

On Tuesday, Senior Judge Kan Ting Chiu found him guilty of
rape, rejecting his claim that the sex was consensual. But the
judge amended the charge to a less serious one that did not
involve any accusation that he had hurt her.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor S. Sellakumaran sought 15
years' jail and 18 strokes of the cane, arguing that Haliffie had
betrayed the woman's trust after luring her into his car and
caused her to suffer trauma and pain.

Haliffie's lawyer, Mr Lionel Leo, asked for 10 years' jail and
18 strokes of the cane. He noted that his client was a first-time
offender and the offences were completely out of character, as
Haliffie's former wife had described him as a soft-spoken,
hard-working and non-violent man.